Simpson-Daniel back to face Tigers

MIKE TINDALL will lead Gloucester into their opening Guinness Premiership match of the 2008-9 season on Sunday aiming for their seventh successive first round victory.

Leicester Tigers will be the visitors to Kingsholm (4pm) for one of the biggest domestic fixtures in the calendar and Tindall will skipper an experienced and explosive line-up against last season's beaten play-off finalists, who triumphed 26-25 against Gloucester on their way to Twickenham.

Head coach Dean Ryan has made four changes to the line-up that started Gloucester's final pre-season warm-up game last Saturday - a 30-8 victory over Glasgow.

There are two alterations to the backline and two in the forward pack. James Simpson-Daniel, the Guinness Premiership player of the season last year, comes in on the wing for Iain Balshaw and Rory Lawson comes in at scrum-half for Gareth Cooper.

Up front, Marco Bortolami gets the nod over Alex Brown at lock and will partner Will James, while Alasdair Strokosch comes in on the openside flank for Andy Hazell.

"We have done all can to prepare for this game under the new regulations, have picked a side accordingly and we are ready," said Gloucester's head coach Dean Ryan. "We have made conscious moves about the way we are trying to operate and that will be fundamental to this block of first games.

"The next five or six could be surprising and my prediction is that we could see some strange things if we don't get consistency in some key areas.

"But any Gloucester-Leicester fixture is massive, no matter what stage of the season it comes in. It's a great opportunity for both sides, particularly after what happened last season, and it will be a great way to start the season."

Gloucester's front row will have a tried and trusted feel - Nick Wood will start at loose-head prop, Andy Titterrell at hooker and Carlos Nieto at tight-head.

Will James gets the chance alongside Bortolami at lock, while Peter Buxton starts at blindside, Alasdair Strokosch comes in at number seven, while England's number eight Luke Narraway anchors the scrum.

Lawson resumes his half-back partnership with Ryan Lamb, while Tindall and Anthony Allen are the centre combination. Simpson-Daniel and Lesley Vainikolo, who both scored nine Guinness Premiership tries last season, are the wings. Olly Morgan completes the back three.

"We have a tremendous number of options available to us in terms of how we manipulate our style of play from both forwards and backs," Ryan said.

"We understand and appreciate Leicester are very physical and hugely abrasive at the tackle situation so preservation of the ball will be key. It should be a fantastic contest and it is something we are all looking forward to."

On the bench, Ryan has opted for a four-three forward split. Olivier Azam and Dave Young - who joined Gloucester from Leicester in the summer - are the front row options, Alex Brown will cover lock and Andy Hazell completes the options.

Cooper, Willie Walker and Matthew Watkins are the three-quarter options.

Tickets are still available in all areas of the stadium and can be purchased in person at the Kinsgholm tickets office, online at www.gloucesterrugby.co.uk or by calling the ticket hotline on 0871 871 8781 option 2.
The ticket office will be open 10.00 am until 4.00pm on Saturday and 10.00 am until 4.45pm on Sunday.

If travelling by car can supporters please refrain from parking in the immediate side streets and either use the Match Day Park & Ride facility at Barnwood British Energy or if you need to drive into Gloucester itself use the various Pay and Display sites around the city.

The Barnwood P&R commences service 1 ½ hours before kick-off and re-commence after the final whistle for a further 1 ½ hours. The postcode for the Park and Ride site for GPS/Sat Nav is: GL4 3RS

The nearest Pay & Display car parks to Kingsholm are situated at St Oswald's Retails Park, Hare Lane North and South, Westgate Street and Longsmith Street as well as Eastgate Shopping Centre and Kings Walk. There is a drop off point within the stadium for disabled supporters. Many bus routes are available into the main bus station in Gloucester, which is only a 5 minute walk to the stadium. Key routes are:

Argentine international Mariano Galarza made his Gloucester Rugby debut on Sunday afternoon, and despite a disappointing reverse to Sale Sharks, the giant Puma was just glad to be making his long-awaited bow in Cherry and White.

Having skippered Scotland to a hard fought 25-13 defeat against England at Twickenham on Saturday, Greig Laidlaw spoke of the frustrations of his side doing so many good things and making real progress as a team but still finishing on the wrong end of the scoreline.

GRTV caught up with Neil McCarthy as he was unveiled as the new Head of Academy. The ex-Gloucester front rower is looking forward to getting to work with the vast arrays of talent in the Academy and across Gloucestershire.

Although understandably disappointed to see Northampton snatch a 33-33 draw with a last gasp try on Saturday, Gareth Evans told GRTV after the game that the result shows how far Gloucester have come as a team this season.

Gloucester scrum half Greig Laidlaw spoke to GRTV after the 33-33 draw with Northampton Saints on Saturday, and the Scotsman described how the hosts played some great rugby, but will rue not holding the lead which keeps them in touch with the top seven.

Although Gloucester could take many positives from the 33-33 draw with Northampton Saints on Saturday, centre Bill Meakes admitted it was a strange feeling at the final whistle with Gloucester having probably done enough to win the game.

Speaking after the 33-33 draw with Northampton Saints on Saturday, David Humphreys admitted that he was happy with many aspects of the team's performance but regretted a missed opportunity to defeat the Premiership champions.

Hartpury U18s won the AASE league for the sixth year in a row last week beating Filton College in the Final at Allianz Park by 50 points to nil, while Bromsgrove School won their first NatWest U18 Schools Cup.

Gloucester Rugby would like to inform supporters about an exciting opportunity for you to raise money for your chosen charity or chosen cause. 2015 is an exciting year for Gloucester, with Kingsholm Stadium hosting four fixtures for Rugby World Cup 2015.